Sonic Lost World (PC)

Sonic Lost World first came out in October 2013 as an exclusive title for the Wii U and 3DS. On November 2, little over a week ago, they came out with a PC version. So, should PC gamers be ready to welcome this game after two years? Keep reading to find out.

Strange Bedfellows

A Whole New World

When you enter a zone, you’ll be given one or two options, depending on whether you’re already completed it or not. If you have, in addition to normal mode, there’s one that allows you to try to beat your previous time. Not only that, when you select a zone you can also view the rankings to see how you measure up worldwide or among your friends, which gives some extra motivation to those especially ambitious gamers out there. Within the zones themselves, the perspective changes back and forth between 2D and 3D. 3D sections are the kind of high-octane speedfests the series is known for, whereas the pace in the 2D sections is a bit slower, losing some of that old-fashioned Sonic charm.

Zones are tubular (like, literally cylindrical) and extremely linear for the most part; sometimes they give you an option to do one way or another, but not that often. The end bosses, the Deadly Six, are pretty easy to defeat once you get the hang of their fairly repetitive attack patterns. The Wisps from Sonic Colors are back, bringing a bit of variety in the form of temporary special abilities for Sonic to use. For example, “Asteroid” allows you to discover new areas, and “Yellow Drill” gives Sonic the ability to cut a path through solid ground.

I should also add that Sonic Lost World is only available as a digital download on Steam, and the PC version already includes the “Nightmare” DLC pack. This add-on is available from the beginning, but all it is really is just a single extra zone that pops up every now and then once you reach a certain number of points, and all you get for completing it is one additional bonus item. But it’s not like it’s anything you’ll need – you find items like this often enough in the normal course of the game anyway, and you can only hold onto five of them at a time, which makes you wonder what the point of the DLC is.

Control(ler) Issues

If you have a controller on the other hand, they’re a whole lot easier, and variable speed controls make it so that even beginners should have no trouble getting the hang of things. The right analog stick makes it possible to adjust Sonic’s speed from a walking pace to a brisk jog, to a full-on sprint at super Sonic speeds. Using the keyboard, even moving diagonally is a challenge. Another issue as far as the controls are concerned is the new parkour system, which can require a lot of practice and fair amount of intuitive finger memory to get it right. Even then, it can still be really frustrating when you try to run up a wall for the tenth time and fail.

 

Sonic Colors, Sonic Sounds

The individual zones are extremely diverse and colorful in their design. You might be racing through a desert world only to find yourself in a bizarre, abstract stage made of candy or even in the middle of a honeycomb. Each zone is unique and nice to look at. It’s a lot of fun to dash through them at breakneck speed, or take your time and enjoy the sights, even if you rarely get the opportunity to do so. Background music changes to reflect the visual design of the zones, creating the right atmosphere wherever you are. And even if you spend a lot of time in a single zone, the music is always relatively discreet, and never annoying.